Chat name colors/icons

[Frank_Stein]

Instead of looking like this




Maybe it could look like this






Or perhaps this

[Ed Venture]

I kinda like the chat how it is now. Bright colored names just look super blurry to me (bight colored text in generally looks blurry to me cause I have bad eyesight) and the colored dots seem really distracting in my opinion.

[Mageziya]

I'm personally against this because color actually plays a role in gameplay.

You use the colors of the chat to distinguish different "meanings." (Ex: Public radio, in person talk, department radio, actions/verbs, the odd warning message.) While in this case the spoken text isn't altered, the highlighted names don't add anything, and sorta just make everything look cluttered.

On the other hand, potential function of colored names could be tying players to whatever headset they're using. Example, someone speaks through a research headset, so their name comes up as purple in the chat. That said, it still has the problem of weird clutter, but it would be better than custom colors.

[Lady Birb]

Questionable idea: give everyone that AI thing that shows you the ID of whoever is talking.

[Ed Venture]

Questionable idea: give everyone that AI thing that shows you the ID of whoever is talking.

Oh god no. I feel that's already OP for the AI alone.

[Frank_Stein]

Bright colored names just look super blurry to me

Well in the case of the example I gave, it's because I did it the laziest way and just used a color swap tool in paint.net, which makes it look a lot blurrier then it would probably end up being

While in this case the spoken text isn't altered, the highlighted names don't add anything, and sorta just make everything look cluttered.

Mostly this was just an idea I had that I thought might make tracking talking between several people at once a bit easier, since I tend to lose focus of what's going on the station because all the radio chatter tends to blur together. Having name colors breaks it up a bit for me to make it easier to digest.

A note: this would only apply to when characters speak in person or over radio. Actions, emotes, and examinations would all stay the same

[Cyfarfod]

What if you had the option to assign a color to OTHER people, to make it easier to track chats from specific people you need to keep tabs on?

[warcrimes]

What if you had the option to assign  a color to OTHER people, to make it easier to track chats from specific people you need to keep tabs on?

Yeah this is better and more natural than everyone having their own color ( which kinda breaks down at high pop ) 

click someone's name to bring up a menu with a few different color presets. bango. now you "recognise their voice" or some immersion.

[Nnystyxx]

What if you had the option to assign  a color to OTHER people, to make it easier to track chats from specific people you need to keep tabs on?

Yeah this is better and more natural than everyone having their own color ( which kinda breaks down at high pop ) 

click someone's name to bring up a menu with a few different color presets. bango. now you "recognise their voice" or some immersion.

I fully support this idea. Flavor it as 'listening' for somebody who you know is shit/important

[Darkchis]

This could get kinda weird with a changeling using Mimic Voice or voice changers and shit like that. Along with the concerns mentioned above, such as being distracting and such.

Being able to assing a color to your buddy if you're both having a conversation and you wanna pay special attention then sure yeah that sounds neat tho.

[Frank_Stein]

This could get kinda weird with a changeling using Mimic Voice or voice changers and shit like that. Along with the concerns mentioned above, such as being distracting and such.

Being able to assing a color to your buddy if you're both having a conversation and you wanna pay special attention then sure yeah that sounds neat tho.

I was thinking that and it should probably stay the same color as what it would be if the orginal person said it.

I'm also totally down for it being something you personally assign someone rather than a universal thing, since this is more a usability thing for me than a gameplay feature

Would probably be best to have a few colors to pick from for maximum readability, and then you can just sort people by color depending on your preferences

[Cyfarfod]

An interesting point has been raised though. If this got put in, the mimic voice/voice changer would have to totally ignore this system, otherwise I could go into a low pop round, assign a different color to each person, and immediately know if someone is trying to run a gimmick.

Anything mimic voice'd/voice changer'd would have to ALWAYS display as the normal color for whatever channel.

[Frank_Stein]

Why the normal color? Wouldn't it make more sense for colors to be assigned to names rather than players, so that repeat instances of the name always have the color you picked?

[Cyfarfod]

Hey, it that's a realistic way to code it, sure. Happily admit I just saw a potential to exploit and tossed out my first, easiest idea to avoid it.

[Technature]

What is superiors were automatically color coded to their workers (like Scientists start with the research director's and captain's name a different color than usual)?

If it's annoying, it could be something you just turn off pretty much immediately.  Being able to opt out of it would be good too.